Carbon nanotube filaments can fall into a complex made by mixing a carbon nanotube with a polymer and one made of only a carbon nanotube.
The former is manufactured as a complex by melting a polymer, which is matrix, with a solvent or heat and then mixing it with a carbon nanotube, in which the technology of distributing the carbon nanotube is the most important technology, and it is a typical method for the latter to manufacture a filament through a post process after producing a carbon nanotube on a board. Also, the method has a problem in that the process of depositing a catalyst onto a board and continuous production of carbon nanotubes with a synthesis furnace closed are limited.
In the methods of manufacturing high-purity carbon nanotube fibers in the related art, a method of manufacturing fibers by directly spraying a solution with carbon nanotubes distributed into a container rotating with a polymer solution therein so that the polymer solution penetrates in between the carbon nanotube particles and bonds the carbon nanotubes is generally known.
When a solution is directly sprayed, as described above, however, there is a problem in that the polymer solution is distributed slowly between the carbon nanotubes and the efficiency of manufacturing carbon nanotube fibers is limited due to a limit in rotation speed of the container filled with the polymer solution. In addition, since there is polymer of around 30 wt % is in the manufactured carbon nanotube fibers, there is a limit in expression of excellent properties of the carbon nanotubes.
Korean Patent Publication No. 2012-0090383 can be exemplified as a prior art of the present invention.